Tag Archives: Hair

Radio Salon, Shoreditch

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I think I’ve found a new favourite salon. In the last few years Shoreditch has grown in popularity enormously, with quirky coffee shops, independent boutiques and hip salons opening up every week. Radio Salon has something special to offer… real personality, in both the venue and the staff.

This spacious salon is located on Redchurch Street in the midst of East London activity. With a quaint cafe opposite and numerous nearby vintage stores, it is easy to spend the whole day wandering around this area. Radio has a slick modern look with clean, elegant design and fresh minimalist decor. The salon is also an art gallery, with regular exhibitions and events and ever-changing walls of work. Radio are also the flagship Bumble and Bumble store in London. Already a massive fan of this American brand of hair products, I spent a while perusing the organised shelves and admiring all the delicious shampoos, conditioners and styling creams.

The attention to detail here is impressive, I particularly loved the helpful handbag hanger clips that are secured onto the table in front of you. Soon I was secured in my protective gown and ready for my colour appointment with Sofie. We talked briefly about my desired effect, brighter and lighter dip dye, and how best to achieve it. Sofie was frank with me and explained that the tips of my hair were quite damaged and dry colour change would be tricky, but she would do the best she could.

Sofie worked her way systematically through my hair adding creamy blonde, and honey coloured highlights alternately, paying special attention to lighten the hairline. There was no time pressure which made the whole experience very relaxed, allowing me to enjoy reading Vogue while sipping my Prosecco! After a toner, the dye was washed out and I was treated to a heavenly head massage.

Upstairs Juri was waiting to cut my hair. He liked the style I had come in with, and as I was adamant about keeping the length we decided on a tiny trim, eliminating the worst split ends and making the whole hairstyle more straight and smart. I didn’t need to worry, he knew exactly what he was doing and worked swiftly. Promising me wavy locks, he twisted my hair with Bumble and Bumble surf spray and blow dried it ‘messy’. My hair seemed to miraculously double in volume.

The best salons are in Shoreditch, and after trying Radio, I think it is definitely a contender for the top spot. They offer every hair treatment, colour, cut or style you could ever want, plus an expertise and genuine passion for hair and art.

More information and book here.

www.radiohairsalon.com

Hot on the Highstreet Week 141

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Bumble and Bumble are my newest beauty addiction. Over the last year I’ve heard about this fashionable hair brand more and more, and now Boots are stocking the collection. However it was my trip to the Windle and Moodie salon last month that secured my obsession.

After experiencing the products in and out of the salon, I can truly vouch for this brand. Versatile and hair friendly the B&B products ensure delicious smelling, salon slick hair all the time. The products are a stylist’s dream. Indeed the company was founded with session stylists’ needs in mind. The range allows you to be creative as the products are very flexible and light and can be layered on top of each other and can be washed out easily and instantly. Used often on shoots and fashion shows, costumers can have catwalk ready hair on location.
I have tried a range of products to use for your daily hair routine from start to finish…

Bb gentle shampoo and conditioner: Brilliant everyday shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo is kind on all hair types and should only be needed once, the conditioner is luxuriously rich and creamy and adds gorgeous shine. For the best results leave the conditioner in your hair for a minute or two before washing out.

Bb texture hair undressing creme: This clever creme added amazing volume to my hair. Just work gently through damp hair and ruffle until you have achieved the desired effect. It leaves your hair smelling delicious too.

Bb brilliantine: This is best used very sparingly… you only need to scrunch through a tiny amount to damp or dry hair to give your hair the messy, slept-in look. Apparently you can use with styling wax to add more hold.

Bumble surf spray: this product is advertised everywhere, and many girls can’t live without it. The ideal spray for creating the much desired summer beachy look. I found this spray incredibly quick and easy to use, and effective on either towel dried or dry hair to separate and style tired and bored locks.

Bumble and Bumble semisumo: The whole B&B range is unisex but I reckon this product would be particularly good for men. The semisumo only launched a few weeks ago, and as part oil, part wax is a great lo-hold, hi-shine pomade. Perfect for taming unruly hair and correcting the direction of shorter cuts.

Professional and fun Bumble and Bumble are the best of both worlds. A brand to definitely get on board with.

Buy all the Bumble and Bumble products here.

Windle and Moodie, Covent Garden

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Windle and Moodie are legendary hair creatives, experts in their field and revolutionary in their techniques. Refusing to conform, their Covent Garden salon is a hair haven for fashionistas, models and famous faces who desire a cut and colour that is on trend but professional.

I have long been intrigued by the Windle and Moodie duo who are still both very much part of the daily running of the business. Paul Windle is most often found in the salon cutting clients’ hair whilst Neil Moodie is out and about, styling hair for influential shoots and catwalks. The character of these two men is evident throughout the salon and their work very much inspires the team of talented hairdressers.

I was sat in the corner of the salon very comfortably surrounded by glossy magazines. My colourist for the day, Akio, slowly talked me through the various options for my hair, explaining the effects of various dyes and illustrating with a colour chart. We decided on a subtle dip-dye with darker roots and lighter tips. Akio worked thoughtfully, thoroughly and cautiously, he did not rush through the foils like many hairdressers I’ve known. His careful approach meant there were no dye marks around my hairline and even application through my hair. While waiting for the colour to develop, I noticed the calm vibe of the salon, usually I begin to freak out when I’m left with foils in my hair, but here I felt totally at ease and trusted my stylists completely.

The staff are attentive and relaxed offering me regular drinks and making sure I was always comfortable. I received a lovely hair wash and head massage from a very chatty and friendly assistant before resuming my seat upstairs for the final blow-dry. Using the diffuser hair-dryer and lots of product, my clever stylist managed to get amazing volume into my hair very quickly. She then used curling tongs to twist random strands creating natural beachy waves. This also accentuated the graduated colour.

Bumble and Bumble products are an essential part of the Windle and Moodie experience. This American based brand was founded in 1977 in New York by hairstylist Michael Gordon, and brought over soon after for use in W&M. These products are delicious, perfectly professional but still fashionably fun. Watch out for a separate feature on the best Bumble products coming soon.

As well as the salon services, Windle and Moodie offer lessons and tutorials on hairstyling, and online you can find tips and style books helping to manage all kinds of hair. After experiencing their services, I’d like to attend a lesson on hair styling, even something as simple as hair curling seems impossible to recreate to salon standard at home.

Even those who dread a trip to the hairdresser will enjoy a trip to Windle and Moodie, I loved my afternoon in the salon and adore the new hair I walked out with.

More information and book here.

http://www.windleandmoodie.com/